While limited service will be offered from the Corlears Hook landing, NYC Ferry has announced the permanent elimination of its Lower East Side route, effective Monday, May 18.
NYC Ferry reports ridership has sunk dramatically during the coronavirus outbreak, up to 90%. New schedules have been released reflecting an across-the-board reduction is service, as well as the consolidation of certain routes. The Lower East Side will now be served by the South Brooklyn route.
Beginning Monday, passengers who board at Corlears Hook will be taken across the East River to to Dumbo, before the ferry proceeds to Wall Street/Pier 11, then back across the river to Brooklyn Bridge Park, Red Hook, Sunset Park and Bay Ridge.
The Stuyvesant Cove landing (near 20th Street) will be served by the Soundview route. Passengers will be able to get to Wall Street/Pier 11 in one stop, or go up to 34th Street, 90th Street and Soundview.
So what’s changed on the Lower East Side? Currently, service is offered from Corlears Hook to Stuyvesant Cove, 34th Street and Long Island City. That will no longer be an option, starting Monday.
“As a reminder,” NYC Ferry wrote in an email message, “right now riders who are not traveling for an essential purpose are discouraged from riding NYC Ferry to help protect yourself, our crews, and those essential workers who are using the ferry daily. If you must ride, please remember you are required to wear a face covering or mask while on the ferries and at landings.”
Neighborhood activists fought for years to establish ferry service on the Lower East Side. The landing debuted in August of 2018, with the mayor attending the grand opening. Many transportation policy experts have questioned the wisdom of the highly subsidized service, as service and funding woes hobbled the MTA.
